Abandoned site, about to be acquired by Montgomery, termed one of 10 most vulnerable historic sites in New Jersey.
By: Kara Fitzpatrick
MONTGOMERY The former North Princeton Developmental Center has been selected one of this year’s 10 most endangered historic sites in the state by the Trenton-based nonprofit organization Preservation New Jersey.
The 250-acre property, which was nominated by the Van Harlingen Historical Society in December, was selected from a pool of about 40 potentially endangered locations, said Ron Emrich, executive director of Preservation New Jersey.
The nomination comes on the heels of an announcement by the state Department of the Treasury that it agreed to sell the property to the township for $5.95 million. Negotiations between the two parties have been prolonged, and township officials have expressed relief that a sale is on the horizon.
Although a resolution is likely, Brad Fay, president of the Van Harlingen Historical Society, said he feels the nomination serves to ratify the importance of a completed deal.
Being nominated to the 10 most endangered list "provides additional encouragement to the state to finalize its agreement," Mr. Fay said. In addition, placement on the list will play a role in the continuing education of the public about the site’s significance, Mr. Fay said.
And it could help play a role in the site’s redevelopment process increasing possibilities for the township "to find outside funds to offset some of the preservation costs," Mr. Fay said.
Nominations to the 10 Most Endangered Historic sites list are selected based on a number of criteria, said Mr. Emrich, the Preservation New Jersey executive director.
The historical, cultural and architectural significance is weighed, along with the level of endangerment, Mr. Emrich explained. Also, Preservation New Jersey looks to see if there is local support for preservation and if there is hope that a successful preservation effort might unfold.
NPDC "met all of those criteria," Mr. Emrich said, admitting it was a "tough choice this year."
The nomination by the Van Harlingen Historical Society highlighted three main reasons the society believed the site deserved placement on the list.
First, NPDC was once home to six contiguous 18th- and 19th-century farms, three of which remain. One of the remaining farmhouses, Maplewood, is listed on the state and national historic-places registers.
Second, the property originally was used for the State Village of Epileptics, providing care and treatment for those with the disease. The State Village of Epileptics, the nomination draft said, "was important both for the history of epilepsy treatment and for institutionalized medical care generally."
Third, the draft cites the brick buildings that dominate the property as typical of institutional architecture at the turn of the 19th century.
Mr. Emrich said NPDC is "a very significant site. The National Epilepsy Foundation thinks of it as a nationally recognized site." As well, Mr. Emrich said, "We think that many of the buildings have a very real value for adaptive use."
Mayor Louise Wilson said when the township acquires the NPDC property, it will aim to preserve "high-priority structures" that possess value either historically or architecturally.
"Reasonably, we’d like to be able to preserve a dozen, maybe 15, of the existing structures," Mayor Wilson said.
The mayor stressed that since the municipality doesn’t yet own the property, "The deterioration that has been so dramatic in recent years continues," raising the likely cost of adaptive reuse.
Mayor Wilson cited the Maplewood House, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, as a high priority.
Mr. Fay said he was thrilled when the news was announced Wednesday.
"We worked very hard to achieve this," Mr. Fay said. "We see it as a reflection on the importance of the NPDC site to history in New Jersey."
Accompanying NPDC on the 2005 list are St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Trenton, the renowned Asbury Park Stone Pony, Warren County’s Hope Village and the Polhemus House in Essex County.

